REVELATION 12
IT is constantly God's way throughout scripture, and especially in the Apocalypse, to unfold His ways to us under the form of visions.
Truths, under symbolic forms and personifications, are presented to the eye of faith, and thereby are we taught, not only the bearing and relation of those truths thus symbolized to all other things, but also the exact proportion and relation which the parts and elements of the scene bear to one another, and that according to the estimate of God, and not of man.
Who then can limit the importance of this divine mode of instruction? It was thus that Ezekiel was shown the glory of God, whether in judgment in relation to Jerusalem, or in the ultimate bringing in of millennial blessing. It was thus that Daniel was made to perceive and comprehend what was God's estimate of the kingdoms of the earth, Jew and Gentile, throughout thousands of years; it was thus that Peter, Paul, and John were instructed in many of the deepest counsels of God. Those revealed to the latter are largely developed in this book, under the form of visions, embodying a wide range of truth relative to Israel, the nations, and (at the conclusion) the Church; and what we find unfolded to us in the vision of chapter 12., is one of the most prominent, in that portion of the counsel of God which relates to the earth; that is to say, that which is connected with His earthly people, and with regard to which the 'earth is the scene of action. In fact, it is that from which all other such counsels emanate, the center round which they revolve, the pivot which sustains them: for what does this vision reveal to us? what is its aim and object? IS IT NOT CHRIST, THE Center OF GOD'S EARTHLY COUNSELS, ON THE ONE HAND, AND THE OBJECT OF SATAN'S RAGE AND ANTAGONISM ON THE OTHER?
It is not a heavenly Christ, in His relation to the Church, that we have here. That, or rather her association with Him in this central position, is given elsewhere; but in this vision He is seen in His character of MESSIAH, AND IN HIS RELATION TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE, from whom He springs as to His earthly association.
In fact, the whole scene is essentially Jewish, and does not extend to His connection with man universally. He, the man-child, is born of, for, and in relation to, the woman; and, though the facts herein represented are a striking fulfillment of the sentence which God pronounced on the serpent with reference to the woman's seed, "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," it is more an accomplishment, of it in connection with Israel than with man in the broad sense of the race of Adam; with the Jewish, rather than with the human, seed.
The symbols under which this is represented are most expressive. Let us examine them. The first object which John sees is "a great wonder," which appears "in heaven." The scene is an earthly one, yet it is presented to the eye of the prophet as in heaven; and why so? Because it is to be revealed to him as it stands in the mind and purpose of God; he must not see it as on earth, i.e., in man's view and estimate, for in that case a very different aspect would have been presented—the whole character of the scene would have been changed; but it is shown to him in heaven, in God's holy perfect estimate and mind, and the colors of the picture are dark or bright in their moral bearing as He sees them, and not as the natural eye would regard them.
The scene, then, is laid in heaven; but what does the prophet behold? "A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." This striking figure presents to us Judah the royal tribe, and is one in full keeping with the symbolism of scripture; for the nation of Israel in connection with the Lord is continually represented to us thus, not (it is true) elsewhere in this investiture, but the simile of a woman is made use of to represent the earthly bride, as well as the heavenly one. Here, however, it is Christ's humanity, or rather His incarnate connection with Israel, that is to be developed; and consequently it is in a maternal and not in a bridal character that she appears. She is presented, not as that which He draws into relation with Himself, but as that from which He springs. And from whence did He spring? Was it not from Judah, the royal tribe, here typified by this glorious woman? That she represents Judah exclusively, and not the whole nation, we shall find proof of as we proceed farther in the details of the chapter, where we shall find her in scenes in which no part of the nation except Judah will move in the last days.
But ere we proceed farther, it will be interesting to note the figures of glory and dignity with which she is invested; symbols very frequently made use of in scripture in Jewish connection, and which would seem to bear a double signification here.
In the first place, the sun, moon, and stars, as the three orders of the heavenly bodies, and comprising "the host of heaven" (Deut. 9:1919For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also. (Deuteronomy 9:19)) are, in their individual attributes, the expression of light and glory; and in their relation to the system which they form, of the stability of God's will and counsel by which they are upheld. Conferring and reflecting light, they are a very fit symbolic investiture for that royal house which in God's mind is the center of earthly glory and blessing, and which will confer on the earth that light which she reflects from her Lord and King. Thus, also the sun which clothes her may, in another aspect, be regarded as Christ Himself. He the "Sun of Righteousness" is indeed her true glory and covering, her " sun and shield;" and in this aspect the earthly glory, even the glory of Israel hereafter, which is but a reflection of Him, is "under her feet," while the stars form her crown. The number of these stars is significant, and would lead us to think that the symbol conveys more than (as has been stated above) a part of the glory necessary to the woman's position. The number twelve is that of the tribes which actually form the crown of Judah, and in God's mind adorn it thus gloriously. The crown designates her as royal; that which forms the crown declares of what her royalty consists.
Many passages of scripture might be adduced to corroborate the signification here given to these symbols, which seem to be peculiarly linked with the throne of David. In Psa. 89:36, 3736His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. (Psalm 89:36‑37), they are used to designate the stability' of that throne: "His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven." In Canticles, where Judah (though there it is bridal Judah) is spoken of, she appears in the king's eyes "fair as the moon, clear as the sun.”
In Gen. 37:9-119And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:9‑11), when Joseph dreams, and dreams in communion with the mind of God, the whole nation, of which Jacob's family was the nucleus, is prefigured by these heavenly bodies; the sun, moon, and eleven stars typifying the nation in obeisance to him in his anticipative and Christ-like exaltation, consequent on his humiliation. So far, then, we can understand the bearing of these symbols, and also how truly the scene is in heaven, i.e., in God's estimate. He always views this woman as thus clothed and mantled, although His manifested favor to her, her regal rights and her earthly glory, waned since the days of Solomon, and have now totally disappeared to human sight; but to her shall it yet be said, "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." How truly do these words describe her as she here appears to John! what she once was, and still more will yet be to man's eye, and what she always is to the eye of God.
But her intermediate history is also to be set forth for our instruction, so verse 2 continues, "And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." In her is the seed, the hope of the nation, but not yet brought forth. This verse describes the condition of the godly part of the nation from the time of its earliest existence to the first coming of Christ—the Messiah. It was in throes of travail, as it were, yearning for "that holy thing" which was to be born, in which all hopes centered. And beautiful is it to notice from the first call of scripture history, this pulse of the elect nation, this pulse (if we may so say) ever beating, as evidenced by the throbs of it, which we meet with here and there, from time to time, as we trace the history onward from the moment when God pronounced those significant words to Abraham, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." It beat in the heart of every godly mother in Israel, and produced that remarkable desire to be the channel of the fulfillment of the promise which was so strong in the Sarahs, the Rebekahs, the Rachels, the Hannahs, the Ruths, the Marys, the Elizabeths. Isaiah gave expression to this national throb when, in anticipation, he bursts forth, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." (See Isa. 9:66For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).) And as the' time of the realization of the hope drew nigh, it became stronger and more distinct, though the circle in which it was found became more and more contracted; the greater part of the nation having, through ungodliness and unfaithfulness, fallen off from the line of God's promise and her true hopes; so that at last it was concentrated in that little remnant which "waited for the consolation of Israel." Strong and clear did this pulse beat in the hearts of such as Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, who, indeed, "travailed" in expectation of this desire of their hearts, which broke forth in accents of joy when the birth of the babe laid in the manger pointed on to its resurrection-birth from the tomb— communicating the glad tidings to all who looked for "redemption in Israel." As truly, if not so intelligently, did it linger in the hearts of the shepherds, who, on the announcement of the angelic host, gave vent to a gladness which evinced what had been the hope of their souls; a hope which, more or less distinctly, had buoyed up every godly Jewish heart, and which even the Gentiles, represented by the wise men, felt the influence of; when, guided by the star, they came to Jerusalem from the distant lands of the East, in search of the new-born king.
But before the consummation arrived, during this period of expectation and travail, "another wonder" is introduced on the scene; and in relation also to that object towards which all eyes were turned: " And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads."(Ver. 3.)" In heaven" also,—in the mind of God, is this other wonder seen of the prophet. In that mind and estimate, however fair its form on the earth, it is a dragon, "that old serpent the devil," here seen as embodying the perfection of Gentile power and evil. Seven heads and ten horns are seen on the beast of chapters 13. and 17. the heads designating seven kings in successive, and the horns, ten kings in contemporary power; the former showing its course and progress from beginning to end; the latter, the last form which it assumes.
Now these seven heads, succeeding one another during the whole period of the beast's existence, are evidently those who acted a prominent part with reference to the Holy Land, that land which is ever in God's mind the center of earthly blessing, and in relation to which He judges all the kingdoms of the earth. By both scriptural and historical evidence we find that there were seven, and seven only; namely, NEBUCHADNEZZAR, CYRUS, ALEXANDER, ANTIOCHUS THE GREAT, ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, CÆSAR, and lastly THE BEAST the man of sin, who is the " seventh and also the eighth." (Chapter 17:10-18.) Thus we find that this beast had its existence from the time that Gentile power was first vested in Nebuchadnezzar; and also, that it will revive, and, before its existence terminates, that it will wear the form of ten kingdoms, ruled by kings subordinate to itself. So much for the beast of chapters 13. and 17. But why, it may be asked, are these heads and horns seen on the dragon? what connection have they with him? The answer is solemn and teaches us that it is he (the dragon) who really wields Gentile power, the origin of which is here seen as diabolical; the human aspect of it being given elsewhere. Embodying the very essence and spirit of the beast, we find in figure here a fact which chapter 13:2 relates in language, "and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." The heads are crowned, because the whole period of their actual rule is contemplated; God's eye ranging over that mighty lapse of time in a moment, and gathering up (as it were) all the activities and exponents of its evil rule, in order to present to us under this terrible symbol of a seven-headed ten-horned dragon, not only the power itself, but also its origin and animus.
Verse 4. The dragon, seeing the royal woman in this state of expectancy, travailing to bring forth that wondrous child and king who was to bruise his head and take away his dominion, stands "ready to devour it as soon as it is born;" and in the strength of this malice with which he is animated, he assails the whole line from whence the expected one should spring: "His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth." The faithful are very frequently spoken of in scripture under the similitude of stars: we read in Dan. 8:1010And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. (Daniel 8:10), of the little horn, that it "cast down some of the host, and of the STARS [the faithful ones] to the ground;" again, "they shall shine as the stars," &c. So, in this vision, Satan is presented as acting with his own evil power upon the stars, that faithful portion of the royal seed who kept up the hope and faith of the nation. This verse comprises in a few words the whole history of his wiles, his rage, and his malice against the holy seed, the godly ones, which may be traced as a vein running throughout the Old Testament. Various were his ways and means; but if we examine the Lord's genealogy, we shall find that from Judah downwards there is some flaw or escape, as it were, in all the individuals through whom the royal seed was borne onwards; and this increasing as the time drew on. How far he succeeded in drawing so many of the stars to the earth, that is, in alluring them from their high moral estate, the books of Kings and Chronicles fully unfold.
From David onwards most of the kings of Judah were servants of God, but all without exception fell in one manner or another under temptation.
David we know was not proof against it.
Solomon turned to idols.
Asa made a league with Benhadad.
Jehoshaphat joined with Ahab and Ahaziah.
Joash, at first faithful, became idolatrous.
Amaziah "did right in the sight of the Lord," but his heart was not perfect.
Uzziah also, but his heart was lifted up, and he offered incense in the temple.
Jotham walked with the Lord, but did not throw down the high places.
Josiah fell in battle for not heeding the word of the Lord through Pharaoh Necho. But most strikingly do we see the effect of the dragon's wiles with Hezekiah; for to him is the sentence pronounced that the "crown was to be profaned and cast to the ground." Sadly does that blotted page in Hezekiah's history illustrate the success of the dragon's allurements on these stars of heaven. He had walked before God in rectitude during all the previous part of his reign, but when the Babylonian ambassadors were sent to congratulate him on his recovery, his heart was lifted up, and he made a display of those treasures which were only given him for God's glory. Who impelled him to this but the dragon, who doubtless knew well what would result from his falling from that high place of witness for God, to the vain glory and flattery of the world? "Behold," says Isaiah, "the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord" (2 Kings 20), and Hezekiah must admit that "good is the word of the Lord.”
So far was the dragon successful when these predictions took place, and the utterance of the royal woman at this epoch must have been that so finely expressed by David in Psa. 89:38,39,4438But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. 39Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. (Psalm 89:38‑39)
44Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. (Psalm 89:44), " But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground." “Thou hast made his glory to cease and cast his throne down to the ground.”
But then the TRUE "Anointed" had not yet come. She still travailed in expectancy of this long looked-for child, whom the dragon now stands ready to devour. This attitude is one which Satan constantly bore towards Judah in her royal and holy character. He was the animus of Saul in his deadly and determined hostility against the life of David, who was to found the kingdom, and the hair-breadth escapes which he experienced evince how inveterate was Satan's desire to destroy him. Another remarkable instance of this we find in 2 Chron. 22 when Athaliah destroys all the seed royal, all but one, Joash, who was concealed in the house of God for six years. Who but the dragon prompted her to this? and who but God could have thwarted the attempt thus? On that single life depended (speaking as to the necessity of God's counsels preserving their thread and consistency throughout), not only the preservation of David's throne, but the ultimate bruising of the serpent's head and the salvation of the world; for from him the Messiah, the woman's seed, the bruiser of Satan, was to spring. Again, we find the dragon in this attitude towards the woman in, the person of Herod, who, on the report of the birth of the King of the Jews, sent forth in exceeding wrath to slay all the children of Bethlehem.
But, however implacable the dragon's enmity, he could not succeed, either by means of Saul, Athaliah, or Herod. His last effort against Him was ON THE CROSS, but his apparent triumph there was his most dire defeat, and in the due course of God's counsels, this wondrous child is born from the tomb; brought forth in resurrection. "And she brought forth a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne.”
We cannot doubt, though the interpretation of this figure may include the actual birth of the Lord, that the truth primarily intended to be revealed here is His resurrection; for then was it that He, having put away sin, was presented as the Messiah, and then did God say unto Him, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." It is in RESURRECTION that He is presented to the nation as "both Lord and Christ," the fruit of David's loins according to the flesh; raised up to sit on David's throne. How fitly is such an event represented in vision by the resurrection-birth of the man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, but who is caught up unto God and to His throne, the heavens receiving Him till the restitution of all things. The life of Christ on earth, His rejection and death, is not contemplated here, though silently implied by the intimation that the dragon stood ready to devour Him, which of course includes the whole course of his enmity from first to last; but we have only a child born and caught away. No doubt it was His actual birth that the dragon watched in malice, as he had the royal line from the beginning; but it is in resurrection that He is here seen as brought forth, and the heavens receiving Him, as well as His ultimate rule of all nations, is consequent on this. This exaltation and rule is not entered on in the chapter before us, the catching up of the child being merely introduced to meet the enmity of the dragon towards Him; but, in the clause which reveals His destiny, viz. as the ruler of all nations, we have a link to that which other scriptures so fully develop. For instance, in Psa. 2 the sequel of this scene is finely set forth. The kings of the earth, and the rulers, impelled by the dragon, had set themselves against this "man child" the Lord's anointed; but Jehovah had set Him on Zion—had declared the decree, and anticipatively given Him the heathen for an inheritance. The apostle Paul, quoting this psalm in Acts 13:32-3432And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. (Acts 13:32‑34), sets forth the doctrine of this 5th verse of our chapter in other words; for he declares the glad tidings " how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written, in the second psalm, Thou art my son, his day have I begotten thee: and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David." Here was the fulfillment of the promise for which the nation had yearned, the man-child brought forth, and caught up to heaven.
This 5th verse concludes the first division of the chapter, the first phase of the vision; and the succeeding one passes rapidly onward, and presents to us a scene still future; the whole of the present dispensation, that time which elapses between the heavens' reception of the woman's offspring, and her own re-appearance on the scene—during the last week of Jewish history—coming between, and being silently passed over. The reason of this omission is evident: the vision relates solely to the woman and her child; therefore that period, during which she is lost sight of on earth and He is hid in the heavens, has no reference to it, but relates to the Church, the dispensation of grace, which is not treated of here. We must therefore pass on in spirit to that period which the Apocalypse specially' unfolds; viz., the last week of Daniel, which is very fitly entered on in unbroken succession with the previous phase of the vision: for, although ages elapse between the two, it succeeds in strict moral order and identity, and is consequent thereon.
Here then (ver. 6) we find this same woman—she who had appeared in such glorious investiture, now in a fugitive (morally fugitive) character—fleeing into the wilderness for the significant period of twelve hundred and sixty days, "where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there," i.e., during the first half of the week. That this event is moral separation and not actual flight from persecution is plain; because there is no active persecution or enmity during this period to flee from. The rage of the dragon had been against the child: He being caught away, and the object of his malice removed, he is in no openly hostile attitude towards the woman as yet. We find also from other parts that these twelve hundred and sixty days—this first half of the week—will be days of deception and allurement, and not of violence or persecution. From the deceptive and ensnaring condition of things,, the woman—the godly remnant of Judah which now comprises the royal tribe—withdraws herself morally; and is sustained by God in this moral separation. She is in spirit in the wilderness, even as the Lord declared when speaking of this day by the mouth of Hosea. "I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her," &c. Dissociated from the defiled and guilty condition of things around her, even as the heavenly saints are now, or ought to be, she truly sings there as in the days of her youth, and finds her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor—of humiliation—"a door of hope;" for in the power of that separation she is borne through that terrible period when the waters of judgment deluge the earth, and is reserved for millennial blessing and rule, when she shall know Her Lord as "Ishi," and be betrothed unto Him "in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.”
But to return to verse 6, which only treats of the first half week of moral separation. This is her position on earth; and while such is the case with her, verse 7 goes on to tell us how it is with her old enemy the dragon. A wondrous scene is being enacted with regard to him. There is war in heaven. Michael (that great prince which standeth for the children of the Jewish people Dan. 12:11And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1),) and his angels war with the dragon and his angels; and the result is that the latter is cast out, and his place is found no more in heaven.
That great fact, which the Lord Jesus saw in anticipation when He says, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven," now takes place. He (the prince of the power of the air) who hitherto has had access to the heavenly places, is found there no more: his power from henceforth is confined to the earth, and is all the more terrible therein from its concentration. He is the "star called Wormwood," who in chapter 8:11, falls on the rivers and fountains of waters, and who in chapter 9. opens the bottomless pit and lets forth its contents. We are not told at what precise period during the first half of the week this event takes place; but it must be during the first twelve hundred and sixty days, for it is the action of the star that had previously fallen, and not of another star, which in chapter 9 ushers in the last half by opening the bottomless pit. And what is the mind and spirit of heaven with regard to this transition, verse 10-13 tells us: "A loud voice," swelled no doubt by that of all the heavenly saints, falls on the prophet's ear, to let him know what is heaven's estimate of that terrible moment: "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which. accused them before our God day and night: and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
This utterance must not be regarded as one immediately consequent on the fall of the dragon, or at least confined to that moment; for the victory of the martyrs who had not then laid down their lives is celebrated therein. It is more a continuous expression of the mind of heaven with reference to this event—extending throughout the remainder of the week: the heavenly saints give expression to their estimate of the joy of heaven and the woe for earth by the casting down of the dragon, and the honor and victory of their brethren who were to suffer thereby.
Suffer indeed they would; but the cry of "woe" is not for them, but for the inhabiters of the earth, "those whose rest and dwellingplace being there, are emphatically dwellers" therein. And well may the cry be "woe" for them who dwelt where all his power was now concentrated. This is the "woe," the threefold "woe," which is consequent on the fall of the star Wormwood in chapter 8:13, which is the same event as that `in this chapter; namely, the casting out of the dragon from heaven. These three woes are the contents of the three last trumpets—four having been sounded during the first half of the week, and the last three during the latter half, the fifth ushering in the devil's concentrated power in exasperated violence, and with the sixth and seventh heralding "woe." Verse 13 shows the enmity of the dragon to the woman which brought forth the man-child; his object on finding himself cast to the earth being to persecute her. The child is beyond his reach; but she, the godly portion of he tribe, is not; for her moral flight or separation only exposed her the more to his malice: and mark, it is still as the mother of the child that his rage is exhibited against her. Here however God interposes, and provides her with means, namely, "the wings of a great eagle," which symbolically express rapidity of flight, and she, not morally as before, but actually flies into the wilderness for time, times, and half a time [three years and a half], from the face of the serpent."This is what we read of in Matt. 24:1616Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24:16), where the Lord, addressing the disciples as in moral identity with the holy remnant of the latter day, says," Then let them which be in Judea flee unto the mountains," &c. This was to be on the setting up of the abomination of desolation at the opening of the last half week of Daniel, which was to be marked by great tribulation, such as had not been from the beginning of the world. The woman however escapes: she is part of the company which we find sealed for preservation in chapter 7.; in fact the twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah; and is borne away from the scene of the dragon's activity, to be nourished for time, times, and half a time.
This winds up the week as to her; but verse 15 retrogrades a little as to the narrative, and tells us the action of the serpent when the woman was out of his reach. This is his final effort against her: he casts "out of his mouth water as a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood"—doubtless raises up a people to pursue her: but again God interposes miraculously on her behalf, "and the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." These pursuers are destroyed by an earthquake, possibly that which we read of in Zech. 14:4, 54And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:4‑5), at the Lord's coming: " And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”
In the above passage we learn, that on the eve of the Lord's coming there will be an earthquake, which will form a valley through which the believing remnant will flee from their foes. In Rev. 12:16 we have seen an earthquake also, the effect of which is to swallow up the flood or pursuers which the dragon had impelled after the remnant. Both occur at the very end of the week; and if the earthquake be identical, it may answer the double purpose of destroying the woman's enemies and forming a passage for her escape. In Zechariah the Lord appears on the scene just as the remnant are fleeing; appears for their deliverance. In Rev. 12 the vision does not extend to this last: so the precise time of the earthquake cannot be fixed; but they appear very similar. At any rate, in both instances the earth helps the woman, or the remnant.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." This passage must not be regarded as Continuous in occurrence to the previous verses, which relate the dragon's final effort against the woman, and wind up the week: verse 17, recurring to that period thus wound up, only designs to show us how he bore himself towards those individuals who were not in the place of preservation and concealment with the woman. She was in the wilderness; they still exposed to the dragon's fury; and with them he makes war. They were "the remnant of her seed," a second company of martyrs who suffered later in the last half of the week, even as the witnesses and the first company (the souls under the altar of chapter 6.) were martyred in the middle of it. "They are those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Faithful to this testimony, they lay down their lives and enter into heavenly glory; while the woman is preserved for the earth, and forms the crowning portion of that company, the hundred and forty-four thousand, which is sealed, not only from Judah, but from every tribe; and enters into earthly blessing and joy. She is the royal part of that company, and the whole nation will be gathered unto her; or at least the elect remnant in each tribe, the twelve thousand sealed ones, will to, gather form that redeemed people, that holy nation, who will constitute the kingdom during the millennial age. Judah, this royal woman, no longer in a fugitive suffering character; but she appears first to the eye of the prophet adorned with her crown of twelve stars, swaying the realm of earthly glory, and clothed with Him the "Sun of righteousness," from whom she derives all her royalty and glory; and (whom haying long yearned in expectation for) she now owns His sway, and finds herself lost in Him.
In recapitulation we may add that these last verses 14-17, disclose to us what takes place during the last half of the week. Not in consecutive order by any means, but merely in the light of cause and effect. The woman out of the dragon's reach, he makes war with the remnant of her seed, and also makes a final effort against her. The former God allows, and gives the honor of martyrdom to one portion of His own, designed for heavenly glory; the latter He prevents by miraculous interposition, in order to mark off another portion for -the earthly glory designed for them. Neither of these glories is entered on here; but the week is fully wound up, the period of the woman's concealed security in the wilderness having run out; but the dragon is not yet destroyed, and the man-child is on the throne, ready to be revealed. The object of the vision being attained, it closes. That object is, as we have seen, to show forth in strong colors, by means of these powerful symbols, not the revelation of Christ—the man-child, but His origin, earthly relations, destiny, and Satan's enmity to Him in His royal, Jewish, Messianic character. He and the dragon are the two objective features in the vision: all the rest hang upon these, and serve to illustrate them. True the woman appears to be the most prominent personage; but it is her maternal relation to this royal child that gives her the prominence. It is against Him that the dragon's rage is excited: the "stars of heaven" are only objects of interest to this evil one because of their connection with Him;—the woman, because she travailed to bring Him forth. He who was to supplant the dragon's rule and dominion—the child—being caught up, the serpent and the woman do not come in contact again until the former is cast out of heaven and finds his power confined to the earth, and that for a short time. Then, it is true, he assails her, and the remnant of her seed, as the only remaining witness for the object of his hatred and fear.
This scene is one of most comprehensive range, embracing the whole period of the woman's existence, from the time of her endowment by God with earthly glory, authority, and rule, until the verge of that moment when her root and offspring—this royal child, on which all her heart and hopes were centered— shall merge her in His own person, and actually take that rule which His birth from the tomb entitled Him to as "both Lord and Christ.”
In conclusion, we may add, is it not plain that the woman must symbolize the royal tribe, and not the nation as a whole?
She retains her identity and personality throughout all the shifting scenes of this vision, and bears a prominent part in that closing week which the nation as a whole will have nothing to do with. The house of Israel will still be lost to human sight and prophetic action, while the house of Judah—this woman— will be on the scene, separating herself morally, assailed by the dragon, fleeing, escaping; and not till after the three years and a half (during which she is nourished in concealment) have expired, will the rest of the nation, the ten tribes, be brought back. Before this last takes place, the man-child, the offspring of this royal woman, born in resurrection, received into the heavens for a season, will have come forth from the throne, for her deliverance, for the destruction of that power so inimical to her, and the resumption to Himself of those royal rights which He had in grace derived from, though in divine right conferred on, the house of David.